My House

Cotton

My brother and I joined Marlborough at the same time and were both placed in Cotton. I joined in the Lower Sixth and he in Shell. I had never moved schools before and had come from a day school in sunny Singapore, so the move to Marlborough was a big change in my life – I had to adjust to sharing a room for the first time, learn to make new friends and get used to the cold! Being quite shy, I remember hiding in my room for the first few weeks, but Mr Conlen (CR 1995-), our Housemaster, made it an objective of his to coerce me out. I’m grateful for this! Getting over this initial confusion, I made lifelong friends and memories that I’ll cherish for years to come. Cotton is an out-house so is further away from Court and the classrooms. I quickly became adept at timing my treks – it took me approximately 7–10 minutes to get to lessons depending on whether I was headed to Maths or Science. During break, I remember speed walking back to Cotton with my friends. We only had time to swap our textbooks for the next round of lessons and munch on a couple of biscuits before heading back out again – not much of a break!

The Cotton Common Room was a large wood-panelled room with a pool table, several large sofas and a piano. On the walls were the names of past Cotton pupils and their sporting achievements. Mr Conlen would often hold House meetings here. After the pub or Buries (the name of the disco held every Saturday), the Upper and Lower Sixth would come back to the Common Room to await being breathalysed. During this time, we would all sit and chat about our night, chat about nonsense, friends would play the piano, and Mrs Conlen would bring out nuggets and chips for us. House Shout was a special time of year. For the few weeks leading up to the competition, the entire House would gather after prep in the Common Room and practice. We took this very seriously – the Upper Sixth pupil running the House Shout would not let the rest of the House leave until the song was up to standard! In my Lower Sixth year, the House won with the song Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows (aka the Shrek song). Even now, nearing four years later, hearing that song brings back very vivid memories. Unfortunately, my departure from the House was sudden. In Lent Term of 2020, Marlborough closed due to the pandemic. My brother and I left the College a few days earlier than the rest of the pupils, during an exeat, because of the worries of Singapore shutting its borders. I couldn’t really say a proper goodbye to Marlborough and to Cotton. So, I’m very pleased that my youngest brother has started Marlborough this year, also in Cotton. This has given me an excuse to visit the College and the House often during breaks from university. Although my little brother’s time at Marlborough and mine never coincided, I still feel that we have a shared experience – the experience of staying at Cotton. Liz Tan (CO 2018-20)

‘The Cotton Common Room was a large wood-panelled room with a pool table, several large sofas and a piano. On the walls were the names of old Cotton pupils and their sporting achievements.’